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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

August 31, 2014

Rory McIlroy

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Q. 64 today. How would you describe the way you played out there?
RORY McILROY: I played well. I hit a lot of iron shots close. I got myself in position to do that, more so than the first couple of days. And I didn't hole really anything the first couple of days. Whenever you're hitting iron shots as close as I was on the back nine you don't really need to putt well. Really a solid day of golf and obviously puts me in a good position.

Q. Let's look at some of your highlights. Let's go on to the golf course right now. Let's start at the 3rd on the green with this birdie attempt. What did you see here?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, this is one of the putts that I did roll. It was a good leave, straight up the hill for me, a little bit right-to-left. And it was nice to hole a putt like that at the start of the round.

Q. Let's fast forward to the 7th now.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, 7th, I hit it left off the tee and was forced to layup. But again left it in a great position. And it was a relatively flat putt in there and nice to make a birdie on the par 5.

Q. You mentioned that you've been hitting it close. How about this one, here, from the first cut on 10?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, this was -- like 135, just a little wedge in there. And the pin was in a very accessible location. I pitched it just past the hole and just brought it back a little bit.

Q. Birdie putt, now, 13?
RORY McILROY: 13, I was playing downwind. It was playing pretty easy today. I hit a sand wedge to that point and was able to knock it in. It was nice to hole some putts out there today.

Q. Let's go to the 15th now. This is your second shot, how about this one?
RORY McILROY: Again, I had 125, trying to land it about 118, 119, which I did, and it did stop pretty much there for me. Another kick-in birdie.

Q. Must have been 18 and a half, there. Must not have gone quite to 19. How about your tee shot here at 16?
RORY McILROY: This is one of the best shots of the day. This was just a little 9-iron, sort of held up against the wind. And, yeah, it was a really nice shot. The way I wanted to hit it. And again another birdie.

Q. The par 5, 18. You think you're going to take advantage of it after a great second shot. What happened here with the birdie attempt?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I hit a really good putt here. I thought it was just going to break in and it just went out on the right. It would have been nice to hole out and go into tomorrow 11-under par. But 10-under, I'll take, and you're still in a great position heading into Monday.

Q. You talk about that great position, do you sense when you're on the first page of a leader board with 18 holes to play, that it's your tournament, no matter what anyone else is doing around you, the way you're playing?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. I've been in this position quite a lot recently. So I know how it's going to feel tomorrow. I know what's going to happen out there. And, yeah, I've played well and I've made it through this year and hopefully tomorrow will be no different.

Q. The putter got hot today, don't you think that was the big difference?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, that was the difference. I putted really nicely today. When you hole them -- I holed a good lag putt on the third today. Once you see those go in early in the round it sort of gives you a nice little bit of confidence. Yeah, it just kept going in the hole for the round, which felt really good.

Q. Your approach shots at 15 and 16, both inside a foot. Were those perfect yardages for you?
RORY McILROY: Pretty much. 15, it was a perfect yardage. I knew I just needed to land it around five or six yards short of the hole and it would release up there, which it did. 16 was probably my best shot of the day, held a little 9-iron up into the wind. I knew that I didn't really have to hit it overly hard and it would come back off the slope. Nice to make two birdies on those holes.

Q. You were playing with Chris. I know you guys go back to amateur golf. You had a lot of fun out there and you both played great.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, we did. We both got -- Chris got off to a great start. I was trying to sort of keep up with him the front nine. And then I sort of got it going on the back and then he finished with two great birdies, as well. Hopefully we get to play again tomorrow and keep this run of ours going.

Q. You're popular wherever you go, but in this part of the United States you feel it, obviously. Everywhere you go people are cheering your name. You've got to feel that?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's fantastic. Especially in Boston, there's a big Irish community here, obviously. I have a lot of support out there. I get a lot of support everywhere I go. And it's fantastic, and I really appreciate it. It's amazing to be able to play in front of crowds like this.

Q. You talked about how it was tough out there on Friday. Did it feel easier today?
RORY McILROY: I think condition-wise, it might have been a little softer, just because of the humidity in the air. I think that made the greens a little softer, a little more receptive. But the wind was still up. But I think since we've played a couple of days in the wind we've sort of got used to it. It's still pretty tricky conditions out there. But I played well and played solid, struck the ball really nicely. I was able to make a few putts today.

Q. Do you feed off Chris at all? He got off to such a good start?
RORY McILROY: We both got off to decent starts. I think when you're playing with a playing partner and you're both -- it is, it's hard sometimes if one guy is struggling, and the other guy it playing well. But when both of you are playing well you keep seeing good shot after good shot and putts go in. You do feed off of one another a little bit.

Q. The round of 64, did it surprise you or has it been in the bag for a while, you think?
RORY McILROY: No, I shot 65 yesterday -- sorry, 65 last week around Ridgeway, I just didn't -- I had a 74 in the first round, sort of knocked me out of the tournament. It's still in there. It definitely didn't surprise me. I feel like I left a lot of shots out there on the first couple of days.

Q. At what point in your round do you realize that this is the day it clicks, you talk about shooting 65 last week?
RORY McILROY: I don't think you ever do. You just keep playing, you take it one hole at a time. I turned in 3-under, but it's not like I haven't done that before. The first couple of days I played well at the start and just couldn't keep it going. I made birdie on 10, and good save on 12. It's all about -- I think those up-and-downs and those par saves were almost more important than the birdies sometimes, just to keep the momentum going. I was able to make a good save there on 12 and birdie 13 straight after. Instead of being 3-under, you're 5-under. And it's all about momentum, especially when you're at this stage of the tournament, when you're trying to get close to the lead. If you can just keep the momentum going throughout the round, it helps.

Q. Did you have a target today, how close you wanted to be at the end of the day?
RORY McILROY: Not really, I just you wanted to go out there and try and shoot something low. I wanted to get to double digits under par, I guess, but where that's going to put me at the end of the day depends on what the guys do on the back nine.

Q. What will you do the rest of the day?
RORY McILROY: I'll head back to the hotel, have a gym session, maybe catch some of it on TV and just sort of relax.

Q. Tell about the shot on 15 and 16?
RORY McILROY: 15 I had a good yardage, 125, it was playing downwind, so it was just a little sand wedge, pitch around 120. The greens released a little bit and ended up perfect. On 16 it was probably the shot -- probably wasn't the best shot of the day, but it was the shot that pleased me most. It was a hard right-to-left wind, to be able to hold it in there left-to-right and take a little bit of yardage off of it. There's a little backstop which made it easier to bring it back up. So it was two nice shots.

Q. What did you hit on 18 off the tee?
RORY McILROY: 5-wood. The 5-wood is still going like 285. And then I had 249 to the pin and hit a 4-iron, and I hit a really good shot. It could have went either way. It felt left, it could have gone right and stayed on the green and it would have made a bit of a difference. I hit driver yesterday. And I had driver out today and then I was thinking, you're 7-under par for the round, you want to take the bad number out of play, I guess, and at least I still had chance making a birdie, hitting a 5-wood on the fairway. I played it a little conservatively. You could have made birdie just as easy doing what I did, by hitting driver. I thought lay back because there's no point in ruining a great round of golf like that by one bad tee shot.

Q. You were down in the gully there. A couple of guys before you, like Mickelson, tried a flop shot and one tried to chip. You went right to the putter, you didn't even think about it?
RORY McILROY: I had a little downhill lie, so the downslope it would have been tough to get the height on the ball. It was either the putter or bump it into the hill. I was just more comfortable with the putter. The last thing you want to do there is not hit it hard enough and have it come back down to your feet. I made sure I got it up the hill.

Q. You were paired with Jason Day I believe it was the third round of the PGA. Can you talk about dynamic of you two going head-to-head?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's good. I've played with Jason quite a lot over the couple of years. I remember playing with him and I guess it was Jason and Rickie in the first two rounds in '11 at the Masters. So the last few years we've played quite a lot with each other. I remember the first time I played with him down in Australian in 2005, we played a practice round, we were both amateurs. He was 17, I was 16, I think. We've known each other for a long time, too. He's obviously a great player, very powerful. Plays a similar game to what I do. It's great to see him back, because he's had a few tough breaks with injuries and stuff. It's good to see him back and playing well. He's probably the freshest of all of us coming into these playoffs, just because he's had the time off. It wouldn't surprise me if he kept this run going for a while.

Q. When you hit a patch like this does it feel easy?
RORY McILROY: It feels normal. It feels like it's what I'm supposed to do. It's my job to go out there and shoot good scores. I'm not getting too excited about it. I've shot good scores before. I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow if I want to try to win this tournament. I wouldn't say it feels easy, but it feels -- it's what I'm trying to do.

Q. I was curious, how much do you think about the Ryder Cup when you're on the side, and do you look forward to it from the standpoint of gearing toward it or is it just one piece in the middle of a big stretch of tournaments?
RORY McILROY: I won't say I haven't thought about it. I'll think about it the week before, probably the weekend before we get there. Right now I'm concentrating on myself. Obviously I saw what Stevie Gallacher did today, I was watching in Europe, and obviously it was a great effort what he did. I'm looking at that part and I'm speaking with a few guys who we think might be picked. I'm thinking about it that way. But personally I've got tomorrow and then two very important weeks to think about before I pay any attention to the Ryder Cup. Just try and get these three tournaments out of the way and then I can concentrate on it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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